PSU Wrestlers finish seventh at Oneonta State Invitational

Nov 18, 2006

ONEONTA, N.Y. - Five Plymouth State University
wrestlers placed in the top six in their respective weight classes
Saturday, leading the Panthers to a seventh place finish among 15
schools at the annual Oneonta State (N.Y.) Red Dragon Invitational.

New York University won the all-day event, scoring 112.5 points,
while Cortland State (97) edged Oneonta State (96) for second.
Johns Hopkins was fourth (89.5), followed by Southern Maine (85.5),
Wilkes (81), Plymouth State (80), Hunter (68.5), RIT (66), Scranton
(38.5), WPI (29.5), Morrisville (15.5) and SUNY Maritime (4).
Cortland and Wilkes were top-20 finishers at the NCAA Championships
last season.

It was one of PSU's top performances in recent years at the
Oneonta Tournament. There were 20 Panther wrestlers in the
competition, with 14 winning at least two matches. Five Panthers
were place-winners, and four others were just one win away from
earning a place in their weight class.

The top Plymouth State performance came from junior Ryan
Schieding (Manchester, N.H./Memorial), who finished fourth
in the 157-pound bracket. After losing to the second seed in his
second match, Schieding rebounded to win five straight bouts in the
backdraw, including two wins over seeded wrestlers. Schieding
finished the tournament with a 6-2 record.

Friend, the #5 seed this year after placing fourth in the
tournament a year ago, won four of his six matches this year,
including wins over two seeded wrestlers. Connolly recorded a 5-2
record in the tournament, posting three straight wins in the
backdraw after suffering his first loss. St. Ours won four of his
six bouts, including an upset of a seeded wrestler in his first
match.

A pair of PSU 125-pounders, junior Chris
Greenwood (Manchester, N.H./West) and freshman
Fred Wilkinson (Quogue, N.Y.), each posted 3-2
records and finished one win short of placing. Freshman
Jared Laganas (Dracut, Mass.) also went 3-2 at 149
pounds, and freshman Dan Burke (Salem, N.H.) did
the same at 184.

The Panthers will be back in action with the first home match of
the season, a dual against Rhode Island College on Wednesday, Nov.
29, at Foley Gymnasium (7:00 p.m.)